Getting past the obvious or superficial traits of animals is extremely important. Choosing a totem animal should not be done simply because you like what they look like. To do this would be missing the point entirely, and most likely ignoring your real totem animals that could be right under your nose. Take the turkey for example, probably the first and only thing that comes to mind when thinking of one is that they taste great on Thanksgiving Day. What qualities could a turkey possibly have that would make you even think of them as a totem animal? The answer is in the last sentence, Thanksgiving. Each year whether on this day or any other, the turkey selflessly gives itself to us to eat and live. Indian medicine cards hold the turkey in high regard along with those who carry the medicine or totem of turkey. A person such as the turkey has great virtues. They are giving and always willing to help those in need. You make many or great sacrifices in order to aid another. You would give someone a coat who is cold and feed the hungry. You will give someone a place to stay, even if you don't have any room. Do you feel different about the turkey now? Can you see how important and easy it can be to look beyond the appearance of an animal and find their inner traits and qualities? This is a simple example, but it's an important one which illustrates how to look at them from a different perspective.

The next logical question would be, how do I find my totem animal/s? There are different ways to go about this. The most obvious way is to pay attention to the ones that come to you. Ones that visit, live in your yard or fly overhead often. Even ones that infest your home can be totems or messengers depending on the circumstance. I will tell you of 2 experiences I had with common animals that infest houses, but the circumstances where extraordinary. And both had messages to share with me.

Once I lived a cozy little attic room atop a large 5 story house. It was a shared house so we all used the kitchen on the main floor. I started seeing little mice in my room. None of the 7 other residence had seen one but traps were set all over the house on every floor, especially the kitchen. No traps caught the mice and more came to my room. 1 person who had food in his room caught one, but no one else saw the mice. My room continued to be the only focus of the mice, and I was getting frustrated. Exterminators came along with a repair person, to fill any holes or cracks they were coming through. The thought was that there must be openings in my room which they were using as routes or building a nest in.

All the furniture in my room was inspected for holes or traces of mice and removed until the room was completely empty. They searched every square inch and couldn't find any possible way for a mouse to get in, and were very puzzled as I showed them various items they had been chewing on (so they didn't think I was crazy :). Sealant was put along the already sealed floor boards, and windows, and more various traps were set through out the entire house. The only way for the mice to get into my room was to climb up 2 sets of stairs.

I was puzzled by this, but I slept more soundly that night knowing of all the extra precautions that were taken. In the middle of the night I awoke to someone singing 'happy birthday' to me. I turned on the light in time to see a mouse squeezing it's way out under my door. The singing was coming from my answering machine on a shelf high in my room next to my bed. The mouse had somehow gotten up there and set it off by stepping on one of the buttons. The problem got so bad I had to move. After I moved no one ever saw a mouse, not even my friend in the house who took my room.

Our next story takes place in my present home. An apartment on the top (3rd floor) of a building. I moved in in the dead of winter. Come spring, I began to notice a few ants coming from a tiny crack in my wood floor. I put down a bait trap and was not concerned. Within a month, my kitchen was infested with a colony of ants marching in and out of 2 small openings, one less than an inch from a cupboard filled with food which was completely ignored.

The problem was so bad I could only leave the house for 1 or 2 hours at a time fearing they would discover the gold mine of food in the cupboard. The landlord was puzzled as no one else in the entire building had ants. Poison was placed around the building and 12 (money back guaranteed) bait traps were placed around each of the 2 entrances. A few took the bait but most marched through or past them. This in itself was bizarre and the pest control people were just as puzzled as me. At this point my kitchen was as clean as a hospital. They were just marching in and out despite the fact that they couldn't find any food. They never actually found even a crumb as I would clean and even sterilize the counters with rubbing alcohol. Like the problem with the mice, after 6 seasons of ants, I just couldn't take it anymore. After trying an endless array of different ant bait, I finally found one that worked.

Having watched several programs about ants, I found them to be fascinating and extraordinary creatures. I would frequently pull up a chair and watch the ants very closely. Many times I watched them for up to an hour at a time. I noticed how the ones going in and out would touch each others antennae at the entrance and wondered what they were communicating to each other, and noticed how the ones carrying bait (the only "food" there ever was), were treated differently.

I was relieved as I could finally go out and enjoy the wonderful weather without worry. But I also felt sadness and guilt that I was killing a colony of these wondrous creatures. I was quite relieved when I found out I didn't actually kill them. They were outside the back of the building. Questions started to pop into my mind. I remembered the incident with the mice. Why did they ignore all the food in the kitchen, and travel up flights of stairs to munch on bits or paper or a blanket? Why did the ants ignore all the food in the cupboard and march around aimlessly on the counter or floor? Why was I always the only person that had these invasions? Why me? I didn't have the answers then, but they came not long after.

I purchased a deck of medicine cards accompanied by a book. Medicine Cards - The discovery of power through the ways of animals by Jamie Sams & David Carson. I highly recommend it. In it I was surprised to find both the mouse and ants listed. It was then that my studies and journey into totem animals, and animal medicine divination began.

Let's talk about the mouse. Mouse people sort, categorize and file away things for later use. They may seem like they're hoarding, but this is the farthest thing from mouse's mind. They are merely putting everything in order so they will be able to explore it more closely at a later date. Mouse knew from the very beginning that "there is always more to learn." One can always delve deeper and deeper and deeper.

I keep a filing system with pictures, articles and other various information, along with books. I just kept gathering and filing. The Mouse told me about myself, but the message was that it was time to open up the files and books. I had become stagnant. It was time to start learning again, and to look deeper into myself and the world around me.

Ant people are planners and are content to see their dreams being built a little at a time. They are patient and have a knowing about the sweet victory at the end of the line. But the ant also warns of those who are not working for the good of humanity. To keep your eyes open for users or con artists.

Like the ant I am a planner and patient, but what it was telling me was that I was still so busy working and planning I'd never noticed that I had already received the benefits of my hard work. It was time to stop working for a while and enjoy the rewards I received. It warned of the users of the world. I learned that it was time to let go of those people, or in some cases tell them to 'take a hike' :)

If you are puzzled at how these traits of these 2 animals came to be, think for a moment. The mouse continually hoards everything it needs for survival. Why? Because they don't know when, or how long their present source of food or supplies will last. They organize it and save it for when it is needed. Ants are patient. They will carry a leaf for over a hundred miles just to get it back to the colony. They are also highly aware of impending danger and scatter at the slightest sign of it. Both the mice and the ant have other traits, but I wanted to share the ones that applied to my experiences to help you understand how to see the messages they bring, or how to know if they may be one of your totems.

Observe animals very closely. Watch how they move and interact with their own, their predators and prey. Look at there traits, study the animal to find out their habits and unique qualities. Do they have traits that you posses? Do you feel it has lessons to teach or could guide you by connecting spiritually with this animal? Are their one or more animals that you have always found yourself drawn to? If so, explore these animals further and find out what traits these animals posses that have caused you to be drawn to them. You may find that there were more qualities in this animal than you were aware of.

Still stumped? Create a ritual designed to ask your totem guides to make themselves known to you. Write a prayer or chant to read before going to sleep asking them to come to you in your dreams. Go deep into nature or a near by forest on a quest to find them. Bring binoculars if you have a pair to really get a close look at them. Watch as many nature programs as you can and tape them if possible. This gives you an opportunity to listen to a few facts and habits of them, stop the tape and think about what you've heard, and how it applies to yourself and humans in general.

More ways to seek them is to just keep your eyes open to the creatures you see all the time. Closely observing and discovering their unique qualities is a wonderful way to hone your skills of seeing into the spirit of these creatures.  If you live in the city these may be birds, raccoons, mice, ants, spiders and squirrels. Again, I highly recommend the book & medicine cards mentioned earlier. It's not only a fascinating form of divination, but gives you solid descriptions of many totem animals and the messages they may have for you. It even contains a spread to find your various totem animals, nine in all.

Keep your eyes open, and remember that every animal is a totem animal and has wisdom and messages. Good luck on this fascinating journey!